A Closer Look at Impact Feedback
Impact feedback describes reactions to or outcomes stemming from the receiver’s actions. This feature of impact feedback, more than anything else, differentiates it from authoritative feedback—it is not about the feedback receiver. Impact feedback is about reaction to or consequences of what the feedback receiver has done or not done.
Good impact statements enable feedback receivers to be aware of reactions others are having to their behavior or things happening in the organization that are connected to their behavior. This can be informative if the receiver is unaware of the reactions or consequences, and that information can empower the receiver to consider other alternatives. You can inform the receiver of three types of impact:
Your own thoughts and feelings, or actions you have taken
• “I described your achievement to my boss.”
The reactions of third parties that you observe or are reported to you
• “I noticed that the team members started moving around in their seats and shuffling papers.”
Circumstances in the organization
• “Hospital infection rates have declined 3 percent.”
Be sure that your impact statements really are about impact. Consider the following:
• “I noticed that you were friendly.”
“Friendly” is an attribution; it reveals a judgment by the feedback giver, friendly versus not friendly. An impact alternative is “I felt at ease.”
Think back now to the third feedback principle: The feedback receiver cannot control the thoughts and feelings others experience or the actions they take in response to his or her behavior. Impact feedback never attributes blame or responsibility to the receiver for the impact. That is a key to impact feedback—not being authoritative. Once you attribute blame or responsibility to the receiver, you increase the probability that the receiver will become defensive, upset, or disengaged. Be careful with words like made, caused, and because when making an impact statement. These words are often used to attribute blame. Consider this example:
• “When you did not answer my question, it made me angry.”
The feedback giver is blaming the behavior (not answering the question) for his or her feeling of anger, instead of taking the responsibility for perceiving the behavior, reacting to that perception, and experiencing the feeling of anger. Using made in this example attributes blame and conveys the embedded message that the feedback giver had no choice in the matter, that anger was the only possible response.
For this example, appropriate impact feedback would be “When you did not answer my question, I felt angry” or “I got angry when you did not answer my question.” This may seem like a pretty subtle difference, and it is. But it’s worth making a subtle change in order to increase the probability that your feedback will be well received.
CCL’s SBI Model
For a long time, CCL has recognized the value of giving feedback in the form of situation, behavior, and impact. Here are some examples of that model in action:
• “Chris, at the end of the team meeting this morning (situation), you gave a summary of the key action steps we had discussed (behavior). I was really glad you did that (impact on me), and it seemed to bring a good sense of closure to the meeting (impact on the process).” (Instead of “Chris, you were really effective in the team meeting today.”)
• “Pat, during our conference call yesterday afternoon (situation), I noticed that you interrupted others and me on several occasions (behavior). I felt frustrated at times (impact on me), and I noticed that the others started arguing and cutting each other off (impact on others).” (Instead of “Pat, you were really rude yesterday.”)
Fitting Impact Terms to the Receiver
It is good practice to consider the perspective of the feedback receiver. Based on individual predispositions and gender, cultural, ethnic, religious, and educational differences (among others), people may be more receptive to one choice of words than another. Some people are receptive to talking about feelings more than others; some people are more comfortable with “getting personal” while others prefer to keep things impersonal or “all business.” As you advance in your feedback skills, you will become more flexible in your choice of impact words, learning to use words that will be well received by the person to whom you deliver feedback.
Consider this example: Your direct report, a project leader, has not made project goals clear to team members. A fairly personal impact statement might be “Team members are upset” or “Team members are complaining.” Since some people might take that too personally, you might use less personal terms, like “Team members are concerned” or “Team members have expressed uncertainty.” You can be even less personal by saying something like “Team efforts appear unfocused” or “Team productivity is not what it could be.”